In the tire industry, rubber compositions are engineered to have a balance of properties; for example, durability (i.e. tensile strength and tear resistance), rolling resistance, and traction. Wet traction is valued for all-season tires and new polymers and methods are desired for increasing wet traction.
Halogenated rubbers have been known for many years. Halogenated butyl rubber is commonly used in the tire industry as air barrier for the inner liner or inner tube of a tire. However, halogenated diene rubbers such as natural rubber, polybutadiene, polyisoprene, and poly(styrene-butadiene) have been difficult to obtain in a form that is advantageous for usage in rubber compositions, particularly for tires. This is partly because halogenation methods typically used cause high amounts of gel and poorly controlled microstructures.